Lisa:
It didn't take long for the doctors to do a cavity search on Agent Greenleaf, Mrs. Martines, and the body of Agent Harrison. Agent Greenleaf and Mrs. Martines were clean but there was a rubber balloon in Agent Harrison that contained a little vial of blue liquid. We didn't have the facilities to tell what it was. Once Agent Greenleaf had called her superiors she assured us that they would send a hazmat team out to collect it and Agent Harrison's body. She had told us that until further notice that the compound was under quarantine. No one could leave or enter. I made the announcement over the compound's loudspeakers that no one was to try to leave the compound. If they tried they would be shot.
Later in the council chambers we sat down to begin the talks. It was decided that Jake, Sam, and Anna should join us for these talks.
"I once again want to say that I had no idea Agent Harrison would try to do something like this" Agent Greenleaf said.
"We do not blame you" Dan said.
"Speak for yourself" Raymond said.
"You always see a government conspiracy in everything Raymond" I said. "Could you please for once give them the benefit of a doubt?"
"Alright I will" Raymond said. "That is until I find the proof that will prove that I'm right."
I rolled my eyes as Dan said "Let's get on with these talks. What will it take to bring about a peaceful solution?"
"Well first you would have to return those soldiers that you transformed to what they were" Mrs. Martines said.
"We were already going to do that should they want to return to the way they were before" Daisy said.
"Alright that's one point agreed upon" Agent Greenleaf said.
"No it isn't" Mrs. Martines said. "All of them should be transformed back. Even the ones that don't want to."
"We don't force anyone to transform against their will" I said. "With the obvious exception of the dead soldiers. We just couldn't leave them dead so we had to at least regress them one year. We didn't want to keep them prisoner and we couldn't afford for them to go back to their units and end up fighting us again. Eventually they would become too young to fight anyway so we decided to skip several steps ahead. That way they would avoid the trauma of dieing over and over."
"What about the gender change?" Mrs. Martines asked.
"Only a few of the soldiers have had their gender changed" Mama said. "Some of us feel that everyone should experience the opposite gender to truly find one's self."
"You forced the change on them when you brought them back but you won't force the change on them now" Mrs. Martines said. "You are hypocrites."
"The same thing could be said of you Mom" Anna said.
"What do you mean Anthony?" Mrs. Martines asked.
"I'm not Anthony any more Mom" Anna said. "I'm Anna now. What I meant was that you always told me to love God's children yet you pretty much hate gays, transsexuals, Bonded, and the like. Though you still love Kaylee who is Bonded."
"Well... she's family" Mrs. Martines said uneasily.
"What difference does it make if she's family or not" Mama said. "We are all God's children are we not?"
"Well... yes" Mrs. Martines said. "I just don't understand how anyone could be gay or transsexual. I'm afraid of the power that the Bonded have. Look what they did to you Anthony!"
"It's Anna now Mom and they helped open my eyes" Anna said. "I wasn't really that happy being Anthony. I'm happier now that I'm Anna. If Miss Dianne hadn't of made me a girl I wouldn't be having such a wonderful experience."
"Your mind has been changed by them" Mrs. Martines said.
"The only one who has the power to change Anna's mind is Anna herself" Daisy said.
"I can agree to letting the ones who want to stay as they are now to stay that way" Agent Greenleaf said. "We do want you to turn over those that deserted for trial."
"And what will happen to them?" I asked.
"They will be tried and sentenced" Agent Greenleaf said.
"We can't just turn them over like that" Dan said. "They deserted because they believe that they were on the wrong side."
We argued about that and other points for a couple of hours. Finally we agreed to continue tomorrow and adjourned.
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Anna:
After the meeting broke up Miss Ketcher wanted to talk to me but I wanted to talk to my mom.
"I'm glad that you're thinking for yourself" Miss Ketcher said.
"You guys have opened my eyes" I said. "I'm glad Miss Dianne turned me into a girl. Now if you don't mind I want to talk to my mom."
"Alright" Miss Ketcher said. "Just remember that you being a girl now is a shock to her. It may take awhile for her to accept that."
"I'll remember" I said as I hugged Miss Ketcher. I then left and went to look for my mom.
I eventually found my mom watching the other kids playing dodge ball in the gathering gloom of twilight.
"Are you ok Mom?" I asked as I approached her.
"I don't know" my mom said with tears streaming down her cheeks. "I don't know how to handle this. I mean you're not my son anymore. How am I suppose to handle that?"
"I don't know" I said.
"I was proud of you when you went into the Army" my mom said. "Now I don't know how I feel. I'm still proud of you but at the same time I'm disappointed."
"Why?" I asked.
"I'm not sure why" my mom said. "You have been changed and can't be in the Army now."
"I don't want to be in the Army anymore" I said. "I had joined to fight this country's real enemies. I didn't think that I'd be fighting American citizens just because they are different. I did obey orders and came into the compound to take them into protective custody and to free those held against their will. I was a machine doing a job blindly even though I knew it was wrong. I have since found out just how wrong it was. Everyone that I've talked to this past week has told me that they are here of their own free will."
"What about the children though?" my mom asked.
"Well of course the unchanged children are here with their families" I said. "They are happy being here though."
"What about the changed children like you?" my mom asked.
"They decided to stay here" I said. "Of course we stay with adults. Right now I'm staying with Miss Ketcher and Mister Thompson."
"Do you like it here?" my mom asked.
"Yes I do" I said. "Everyone is so nice here. They don't expect anything of me other than being a kid and some chores."
"I still don't see how you can be happy as a girl" my mom said. "I wouldn't be happy as a boy."
"Why don't you give it a try" I said. "Just ask one of the Bonded to change you. I'm sure they would be happy to change you."
"Would they change me back though?" my mom asked.
"They would" I said. "There was one soldier from the third attack that wanted to stay here after he was brought back. He also wanted to change back to his own age. They did change him back after a day."
"Why after a day?" my mom asked.
"No one had a charged crystal after he was brought back" I said. "It takes a day for a crystal to recharge."
"But they did change him back?" my mom asked.
"Yes they did" I said.
"Didn't others ask to be changed back?" my mom asked.
"Not the ones that stayed here" I said. "The ones that left did and they promised to turn them back after the war if that is what they want still. I think most of them will want to be changed back after the war."
"How come they didn't change them back?" my mom asked.
"You heard them Mom" I said. "They're saving them the agony of being killed over and over until they're too young to fight."
I looked up and saw a couple of streaks of fire coming toward us. We didn't have time to run before they hit right in front of us. We both instinctively threw up our arms to shield ourselves. I felt something hit my hand and closed my hand around it.
When I closed my hand I heard a strange voice speak to me. When it was done I turned to my mom with a smile on my face. I was now one of the Bonded.